The Touch Series: Initiation (2 page)

              “Yes, I love it actually. It's one of the few things I can say I am good at.” I gave him a smile when I finished the sentence but it wasn't returned.

              “I hate to dance.”

              “Oh.” I looked to Artie to see if I had made Mr. Constane angry. He winked at me and waved his hands to indicate for me to relax.

              Josef noticed our interaction and rolled his eyes. He glanced at the file in his hand again with that tense jaw again. “What type of dance exactly?”

              “Several. I'm trained in salsa, rhumba, hip hop, jazz and the waltz. But I mainly dance the rhumba at work.” None of that changed his demeanor. “I also have a background in ballet. So, I can dance ballet for you.” I spoke too soon!

              He shot up to meet my gaze. I couldn't read exactly what he felt. But Artie was mortified and shook his head for me to shut up.

              “I'm so so sorry. That was really inappropriate. I didn't mean it like that... I actually don't know what I meant to say...” I couldn't speak anymore. I always had an issue with rambling and saying things without thinking. It has gotten me into trouble more than once in my life.  I just looked down at my hands again, hoping the interview would end there.

              “I can't imagine the pay is good at work.” He changed the subject. Bless him!

              “No, it's not but you wouldn't believe how generous tippers are on a Friday and Saturday night.”

              He raised one of his eyebrows then looked down at the file again. “I presume you dance mainly to entertain the male guests? Older, I presume too?”

              He made it sound bad and it made me slightly uncomfortable. “Yes. But, well, I also teach couples how to dance and sometimes I teach classes for children and teens.”

              “How do your parents feel about your work?”

              I tried to suppress a laugh. “Um, they think it's the worse than working at McDonald's. They never liked my dancing and they believe my work is terribly inappropriate. But they don't see the art and beauty in it like I do.” And clearly, neither do you.

              He cleared his throat and gave the file back to the man next to him. I now assumed the file contained information on me. I wondered what else it contained. “Do you have any attachments or current situations that may cause issues in you joining me and the others on, let's say, a weekend trip? A boyfriend perhaps?”

              My brother. “No, nothing at all.”

              He studied me for a second as if he didn't believe me. “Okay, if you were to make the final cut you will receive a non-disclosure agreement that, in detail, explains how the group works and the rules that you would have to follow. Now, many of your questions will be answered just by reading it. But do you have something to ask that you need an answer to now?”

              “Yes, well I would need someone to compel my parents and my brother to not suspect that anything bad is happening especially if I will be gone for long periods of time.” Vampires are able to compel humans into doing exactly what they wanted. Though it was generally illegal, I was giving permission for them to do so for my parent's sake.  Artie nodded with a smile which told me he would handle it.

              Mr. Constane cocked his head to the side with his fingers stroking his mouth again. “What do you mean by 'bad'?”

              I didn't mean to offend him. And I hope that he didn't feel that way. “Sir, I don't usually go out, especially with men.” My face burnt even more. I found refuge by staring down again. “The thing is that they would suspect something and probably call the police or something if they found out that I joined a group of women who are employed by a billionaire vampire. It wouldn't sound right.”

              I looked up. I needed to. This was the most prominent request. My family can't know about anything.

              He crossed his arms against his chest and smirked. “No, that wouldn't sound right. Of course, we will accommodate you on that.”

              For the first time since I entered the building I felt as if I could properly exhale. “Thank you”.

              “Now, one more thing before you go. If you are chosen for the group, we will meet on a day where you will receive and read the contract and then go over any issues you have as well as discuss the financial agreement of your liking.”

              “Okay.”

              He got up to whisper something to Artie. He turned and looked at me with a slight grin. “Thank you, it was a pleasure to meet you.”

              The brunette receptionist appeared at the door as if she magically knew that my interview had ended. I stood and waved bye to them all and practically sprinted out the door. That had to be the most uncomfortable interview ever.

                                                                                                  ***

              After a few minutes of waiting in the reception room with the other girls, Artie came out to direct us to our cabs outside. As we made our way out of the building, I sprinted to catch up with him.

              “I'm sorry about what happened up there. Sometimes I talk without thinking.”

              Artie looked at me sideways and smiled, “It's fine. Don't worry about it. He may be hard but somewhere very deep inside there is a sense of humor.” He opened the door to my cab. “Am I still coming over tomorrow?”

              “Yep. Pizza or Thai?”

              “Thai, of course.”

              “Got it,” but before slipping into the taxi, I needed to get his reassurance. “Artie, do you think it went well though? I feel like such a fool.”

              He laughed. “Honestly, I wasn't expecting anything else from you. No offense.”

              “None taken,” I muttered.  “goodnight.”

              “Goodnight.”

                                           CHAPTER three

              The door bell rang and I ran down downstairs before either of my parents got to the door first. I opened the door to find Artie with a case of Smirnoff Ice. My favorite. He gave me a devilish grin as he stepped in.

              “Go upstairs and hide the drinks. My parents are going out to the town meeting in five minutes.”

              He nodded and used his vampire speed to get upstairs in a nano-second. I turned to find my mother coming my way. “Who was that?”

              “Girl Scouts.”

              “This late?”

              I shrugged my shoulders as I started heading up the stairs.                            

              “We're heading out now. Watch over Nicholas.”

              As my parents put their coats on and started heading towards the door, I noticed my brother sitting up at the top of the stairs reading his comic book. For an eight-year old boy, he didn't like playing with the neighborhood kids or even playing outside. He mostly stayed in and read comic books, especially
The Incredible Hulk
. I suppose it allowed him to escape into a world of good prevailing over evil and the thought that a hero will always be there. I wouldn't be surprised, especially after what happened last summer...

              “Hey kiddo. Artie is here, don't say a word to mom or dad, okay?”

              He nodded. I always hoped for a verbal response but it never happens. What happened to him and what he witnessed caused him to stop talking to anyone. I can't even remember how his voice used to sound like. I gave him a wink as I passed by him to enter my room.

              Artie sat at my desk and was going through my school yearbook. “So, any new hot high school graduates you can set me up with?”

              Ever since we met half a year ago, Artie has suffered from a serious crush on one of my friends, Celine, who only dated blond jocks and not guys with high IQ's and a nerdy sense of style. I tried to persuade her though, especially since I always thought Artie was cute even with his somewhat flamboyant style. I always told her to think Dylan O'Brien with Tom Ford as his personal stylist – with the addition of the fangs, of course. She was never interested unfortunately. But that never stopped Artie from consistently pursuing her. 

              I grabbed a bottle of Smirnoff and sat at the edge of my bed facing him. “You know Celine is going out of state in the Fall right? There would be no point.”

              He sighed heavily as he dropped the book on my desk. “Yeah, I know.”

              He reached out to open the brown paper bag that was on the other side of my desk, which contained the Thai he requested. After helping himself to a plate and passing one to me, he sat back down in front of me. “So, another town meeting, huh? What's this one about? Should the town have Cherry or Peach Pie Day?”

              “Haha,” I shook my head at him. People who weren't from Richmond always laughed at our ways. We always had random, sometimes weird, town holidays and events. Sometimes it was annoying but a part of me always thought that it was cute. And it was one of the few things I liked about the town. “I think it has something to do with coming up with ways to attract more tourists for the summer.”

              “Well, the town sure has its appeal. I mean, there's the amazing pies, town hall square dance nights, and the Founder's Day festivals that actually might not have any historical accuracy to it whatsoever.” He snorted before becoming distracted by something; he turned to face the door before looking up at me. “So, is he any better?” I knew he was talking about Nicholas. For a vampire, he wasn't the stereotypical cold-hearted vampire who didn't care for humans. No, Artie was entirely different. And he cared deeply for Nicholas. He even offered to compel Nicholas to speak but I wanted Nicholas to come out on his own. But Artie always meant well.

              “No. If something he has been reading more and more. Which, I guess, in a way is good. It's better than being scared and sad in his room all the time like he used to be.”

              “What do the doctors say?”

              “The same old. We just need to be patient and wait for him to have the confidence to speak to us. We can't force him in anyway. Um... there's... this therapist who deals with child trauma who also deals with speech therapy a few miles away from here. We've heard really great things about him and one of Nicholas' friends who was with him that night...” I looked to the door before I continued. “well, he has been able to start talking again after seeing him. Not anything major but a few words.  So my parents are hoping Nicholas can see him. But the doctor is always booked plus he is super pricey. So...”

              “And that's where Josef would come?” Artie knew me too well. He knew I would need a really good excuse to need money if I agreed to join Josef's entourage.

              “Yeah. I just hate when my parents struggle to pay the mortgage and bills, let alone the medical bills. They really would not be able to afford this therapist and the insurance won't cover it at all. You know, I don't really want to talk about it. I actually want to talk more about Mr. Constane.” I really did, I had many questions. Plus, talking about Nicholas and his condition always made me depressed.

              Artie took a second helping of beer from the case and crossed his legs on top of my desk. “Shoot.”

              “Okay, for one, why can't I call him by his first name?”

              At that, Artie became tense. “If you become his friend and he trusts you then he will allow you to call him by his first name. For now, it's Mr. Constane.  You have to remember that he is an old vampire so his views on tradition are different from yours.”             

              Which takes me to my next question. “How old is he exactly?”

              He shook his head. “I can't tell you that. You can ask him yourself. And if he is comfortable with you, he will gladly tell you.”

              I looked around the room as I decided what I wanted to ask next. “How did he get so rich?”             

              “He owns a successful trading business.”

              “What does he trade?” Not drugs, I hope.

              He looked at me as if he read my mind. “Nothing illegal.”

              Okay, next question. “Why does he do this? This group, club or whatever?”